


Precipice

by Dusklatte



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Attempted Murder, Both of them are just mercenaries now, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Just she doesn't know how to deal with them too well, Kidnapping, My Unit | Byleth Has Emotions, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:10:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26440138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusklatte/pseuds/Dusklatte
Summary: Byleth felt comfortable, returning to a life of mercenary work now that she was no longer needed as a professor or as a general in war. With somebody as like-minded as Jeritza by her side, she was content with living like this for the rest of their lives.Except she finds herself being pushed closer and closer to the edge, as her newfound emotions begin to take their toll.
Relationships: Jeritza von Hrym/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 13





	1. Precarious

**Author's Note:**

> I've been intending to write some more Byleth/Jeritza content, and I had some ideas come to my head over the past week whilst trying to keep on top of a very turbulent week of work... Here's the first part!

A cool breeze whipped her hair around her as she gazed at the ocean before her, the deep blue gradually fading into the orange and pink hues of the evening sky. It was a beautiful sight. The sort she would have been taken to as a child by her father, in an attempt to stir any sort of emotion in her.

Unfortunately, she was not there for leisure. The way her hands were bound behind her back made certain of that. No matter how she tried to tug them free, she would just succeed in tightening the binds.

She closed her eyes as she found herself being nudged closer towards the edge. There was the point of a blade pressing against her back, so she couldn’t step away.

She could see the edge of the cliff, and the way in which rocks would crumble off it. It reminded her of... what happened, during the battle which cost her near to five years of her life. Perhaps she could be fortunate enough here just like then, to survive what was planned for her, but she had her doubts. Now that her heart truly beat, and she no longer possessed Sothis’ powers, she could not tempt fate in the same ways as the past.

Behind her, she could hear her captors attempting to goad her, so that they could have an excuse to push her and end her life. She remained silent and did not react, though it was hard. It was difficult for her to return to her persona of the Ashen Demon, but in life-or-death situations such as this, it was needed.

“To think, one of the lackeys of the wretched Emperor was so easily snatched from the streets! We will avenge our fallen King and Archbishop by taking her life!”

She pursed her lips together tightly to avoid losing her temper with these people. However, it was true what they had said, about how easy it had been to get her.

* * *

* * *

“I am going out for a stroll. Just to walk off that meal we had earlier – I’ve not had something cooked by someone other than us in such a long time…” she had smiled at her companion, approaching him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be back in about twenty minutes, okay?”

He tutted, and diverted his eyes away from her. “Take a weapon. You forget we are in former kingdom lands, and our names are synonymous with death and disaster,” he muttered, before he very hesitantly placed a kiss on her cheek. The pair of them had been a couple for many moons now, since they had brought down a secret enemy who had been pulling the strings of the Empire for many years, possibly even decades, or centuries.

During this time, they had developed somewhat unique verbal cues to show their affection, and though they would often find themselves in the throes of passion on their downtime in their new lives as wandering mercenaries in Fódlan, their physical signs of affection outside of that were often tentative and unsure. Kisses and hugs were rare, but they still did them. They found it easier to convey their emotions physically in moments of intensity such as mid-combat or when sleeping together.

She looked up at him, then tapped at the dagger resting by her hip. “It’s never failed me before now,” she stated, before taking a deep breath. “See you later.”

He nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement before his attention returned to the few belongings which they took with them. They were going to be staying in this inn for one week, which provided ample enough time for maintaining weapons, cleaning their clothes dirtied by battle, and to replenish their dwindling supplies.

With a confident grin on her face, she made her way out of the room they were in, before making her way down the stairs and out of the inn. She shivered slightly at the familiar chill of Faerghus, which prompted her into pulling her arms through the holes in her coat sleeves, and actually covering her arms.

The town which they were staying in was quaint and calm – the roads were cobbled, and there were a few persistent flowers sprouting near windows and doorways. It was quiet too, with very few people about. The only noises came from the cold breeze and the distant barking of dogs belonging to the residents of the town.

Had she not lived a life as a mercenary and combatant, this would have been a lovely place to have lived. Alas, the calling for battle was too much for her, and she couldn’t see herself settling down anywhere at any point. The entirety of Fódlan was her home, so long as she had her travelling companion by her side, and her few precious belongings including her mother’s ring and father’s journal.

After a few minutes of walking, her mind lost in thought, she found herself at the town outskirts. She took a deep breath, and decided to stay there for a few moments before returning back to the inn.

However, it didn’t take long for a feeling of unease to sweep across her body. There were eyes upon her, so she cautiously rested her hand on the hilt of her dagger.

She tightened her grasp when she finally began to hear footsteps behind her, then quickly turned around with the blade drawn when she felt that these people were close enough. Unfortunately, she had reacted a moment too soon. There were three people, two armed, one holding onto a length of rope. One of the armed pair was holding a lance, which was raised in the air.

The shaft of the weapon came down on her head before she even had a chance to move.

* * *

* * *

It had been almost a day since then (or at least she believed it was that long, she had lost track of time due to the period she had spent unconscious), and by the looks of things, she didn’t have much longer left. She was getting moved closer and closer to the edge, and the unfamiliar feeling of her heart racing was making everything about her current predicament feel much, _much_ worse.

Finally, she found herself at the very edge of the cliff, and the drop below her looked… vast. It… was not something she wanted to go down. Not after last time – and that drop was much less than this one.

Her toes were just over the edge, and she could feel more rocks crumbling beneath her. She lifted her head slightly, and felt tears pricking the edge of her eyes. Again, another unfamiliar feeling, which brought forth bitter and unwanted emotions. Silently, she mouthed for forgiveness from her friends, her allies, her companion.

“This is getting boring, should we just push her?”

She did not want to die, but it seemed her time was up.

“Wh-AGH-!” A startled yell from one of her captors led to the blade against her back being pushed further into her, forcing her to start leaning over the edge. If she were to be bushed any further forward, then gravity would take her, and the nightmarish terrain below would no doubt claim her life.

Her eyes widened when she heard the familiar noise of a weapon cutting through flesh. Despite her instincts telling her to look at the unfolding events, she didn’t have to turn her head to know what was happening. Even if she had gone to look, she probably would have begun to plummet as her balance shifted.

She held her breath when she felt the weapon against her back suddenly disappear, as more rocks fell beneath her causing her to almost lose her balance. As the person who had been pushing her was put to the blade, she did her best to stabilise her footing in order to take a step back. Her legs were shaking, however, and such a simple task turned into a daunting endeavour.

After a few moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She heard her name whispered from behind her as her breath turned shaky, the turbulent emotions in her head beginning to turn overwhelming and slipping through her façade of stoicism. “You… had me worried when you did not return last night.”

Tears were streaming down her face when she heard that oh so familiar voice that she loved. The quiet sobs turned into a scream however, as there was a loud cracking noise as the large chunk of stone at the cliff’s edge which she was stood on began to give in under her weight. She was promptly grabbed hold of, and dragged back from the edge as it began to fall.

Slowly, she was pulled into the arms of her saviour, his hold hesitant and somewhat unfamiliar with this sort of touch. She quietly sobbed into his chest as he held her close and rested his head against hers. Eventually, he pulled out a familiar dagger, and sliced through the ropes keeping her arms behind her back.

Her hands were somewhat numb as she pulled them back in front of her, and grabbed at the material of his shirt. Had he been a mere few moments later, she would already be bleeding out on the ground below the cliff, if not swept out into the ocean.

“You are… foolish, Byleth.”

She tightened her grasp as best as she could at his words. “I know, Jeritza… I know…”


	2. Sleepless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Jeritza could barely settle down to sleep. His mind was being plagued – for the first time in many a week, the Death Knight had taken control. Losing Byleth had caused something in him to just snap._

Jeritza could barely settle down to sleep. His mind was being plagued – for the first time in many a week, the Death Knight had taken control. Losing Byleth had caused something in him to just _snap._ He had grown concerned upon her not returning from her evening walk, and had gone out into the town to look for her.

He had found her dagger carelessly discarded on the floor, and the signs of a slight struggle. Scraps of rope where it had clearly been sliced through in an attempt to restrain.

From that point, he had found himself losing control. He had still been on the surface, but he could feel the Death Knight threatening to push through. If Byleth were ever to fall, he wanted it to either be of natural causes, or by her will at his own hand. Not as a result of another’s actions. They had promised it when they first decided that they would travel the lands as mercenaries, and not as generals of the Empire.

All night, he had followed any leads and searched high and low for Byleth. Rumours were quick to spread in the village of a woman being seen after having been snatched from the streets, the kidnappers being known as outspoken opponents of Edelgard’s reforms of Fódlan due to their past as soldiers under the late King Dimitri himself.

Eventually, he had found a… confidant of theirs in a tavern. He anonymously sent drinks to the table which this person was sitting at, until eventually, they were drunk enough to not remember the events of the night, but drunk enough to have no filter with their words. He had interrogated them, pointing Byleth’s dagger at their throat whenever they would begin to get distracted.

He asked just two questions. Where did they take her, and what did they want to do to her?

The answer had been what had pushed him to the edge, and allowed the Death Knight to take over.

“ _Near th’… y’know… mountains… Where th’ tragedy happened… Wanna kill tha’ traitorous bitch…”_

He had felt the bloodlust of the Death Knight subside when he felt the warmth of Byleth in his arms once more, the evening after she had been snatched from the streets of the town. Around them both were the corpses of those who were intending to kill her, but all that mattered to him… was that she was back with him.

Now it was later that night. They had returned to the inn which they had been staying in, and following on from her taking a quick bath to relax, they had retired for the night. She was strong, one of the strongest women he knew other than his sister and the Emperor, but after having been so close to death… He was not surprised that she had been shaken to the point of acting clingy as they settled under the covers. She simply would not release his arm.

Of course, he now couldn’t sleep. He didn’t want the room to be broken into during the night, for if somebody attempted to finish the job once it would be discovered that Byleth was not pushed off that cliff. He had a blade beside the bed, ready and waiting. In addition to that… She was very close. Her breath was soft and warm against his bare shoulder, her hands firm in their hold of his arm, and one of her legs were wrapped around his.

He didn’t mind the intimate closeness between them both – she was the only person he could ever allow to do such a thing. It was a somewhat unfamiliar feeling, but he could tolerate it. The only thing which bothered him about it was that the emotions which he held for her, in combination with her hold, had somehow managed to make his heart race, and in turn make it even more difficult for him to rest.

Eventually, he heard a quiet noise to his side as her grasp weakened.

“You’re still awake, Jeritza…” she muttered, tiredness clear in her voice.

He grunted, and used his newfound freedom to turn onto his side to face her. “I have to be. We are not safe in this town – everyone likely knows who we are now,” he stated, a frown on his face. “We should leave in the morning. I know somewhere safe that we can go to.”

Byleth huffed as she shuffled closer to him again, and then rested her hand on his cheek. “Even more reason to sleep…” She then tiredly smiled as he made a noise of reluctant agreement. “I know that you don’t want us to be in danger, but being tired can be an even bigger danger in a life-or-death situation.”

Jeritza closed his eyes and tutted, knowing that she was completely right in what she was saying, but at the same time, he didn’t want to risk it if somebody were to break in during the night.

Clearly, Byleth could tell his thought process, so she yawned as she sat up and stretched her arms out. As the blankets pooled around her hips, he found himself staring at her wrists. They were covered in a plethora of small, reddened wounds from the way in which she had been bound by her kidnappers. It was clear that some of those marks would scar, and that others would take much longer than others to heal. It brought forth the rage of the Death Knight once more, but he resisted – he did not want to keep her awake any longer than necessary for if he were to come out with a bloodlust which needed to be satiated.

What surprised him was that she then got up, and made her way over to a chest of drawers in the room. She looked at him briefly, implying that she wanted assistance, so he got up and went to the other side.

“We can barricade the door. It can be put back in the morning, but is heavy enough to keep the door shut even if the lock in the door were to be picked,” she explained as she pulled at the furniture. “That way, we both get what we want – you don’t have to worry about an overnight ambush, I don’t have to worry about you being overcome with exhaustion tomorrow.”

When the drawers were situated in front of the doors, in a position which prevented the door from opening, Byleth grabbed hold of his arm once more and yawned as she leaned into him. “Sorry if I am acting too attached... I just-" she closed her eyes as her fingers tightened. “I had accepted that I was going to die.”

Jeritza felt unsettled at her words. There had been many a time where he had felt similar in his life, and it was... far from nice. And knowing that she had felt that was was... _Knowing that those people made her feel that way-!_

A gentle hand on his cheek brought his mind back to reality. Her thumb was stroking at his skin as she gave him a concerned frown. “Calm down, okay...? I don’t feel that way now. I’m back with you, and that’s all that matters,” she whispered, her tone and volume being a welcome reassurance. She then stood on the tips of her toes as she leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He was used to their interactions being quick yet rough – as though they had no time left and had to do what they needed to there and then. But this was... much different. Her kiss was so... soothing to him.

“Let’s go back to bed… Then when we wake up in the morning, we can talk about our plans to leave this town. Agreed?”

“… Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say that if anyone wants me to write any three houses fics, to let me know on my twitter (@ClaudeEmblem)!! I'm wanting to flex my writing muscles~


End file.
